EDITORIAL - Terror strikes anew

Just in case anyone else thought differently, terrorism still remains a force to be reckoned with in some parts of our country.

Last Saturday, government troops beat back fighters belonging to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters who allegedly ransacked a town market in Maguindanao.

According to reports, around 50 members of the group, which has been identified as a terrorist organization with links to the Islamic State, raided the market in Datu Piglas with the intent of procuring food and other supplies.

Government forces were alerted to the presence of the armed men and responded. This allegedly resulted in a firefight that eventually forced the raiders to flee, along with five of their wounded.

So far there have been no reports of deaths on the side of government forces or civilians.

In this time of the pandemic, when the main concern is how not to catch the dreaded virus while still being able to support yourself and your family, it is easy to forget that terror is still an ongoing threat.

It actually never stopped, it might have been suppressed a bit by the pandemic because we are sure terrorists are also infected by the coronavirus, but those who want to wreak havoc for whatever purpose never really abandoned their ambitions.

We got lucky this time, the terrorists were driven back quickly. They were not able to establish a foothold and dig in, like what other terrorists did in Marawi City back in May 2017.

Much still has to be done by all stakeholders to make sure terrorists don’t succeed in whatever nefarious goals they set.

We say all stakeholders because fighting terror is no longer just the responsibility of the government. All of us, the different sectors of society, and the ordinary people, have a duty in the fight against terror as well.

We are talking about the duty that doesn’t involve picking up arms against terrorists, but making sure the government knows about their movements and their presence.

But most of all, what many of us can do is to deny them the resources and manpower they want so badly and cannot exist without.